Dangan Ronpa: Aegis of Despair
by JokersMaze
Summary: Set after the events of Dangan Ronpa 2. Sixteen new students are to participate in Monokuma's latest game of mutual killing. With no recollections of how they got there, the students can only hold their heads high in face of the upcoming events; [SYOC CLOSED].
1. OC Submissions

Greetings readers,

The prologue will come after all OC's have been selected. This SYOC will take place after the events of Dangan Ronpa 2- the world is still plagued by despair. I may be drawing art to help illustrate the story.

The more descriptive you are with your character, the easier it will be to write with them. This is especially true with your character's personality and behavioral traits.

I have opened this SYOC now because I will be extremely picky about the originality of these characters. Unless your character is _incredibly _well written, I will not accept any SHSL's that are taken from the original Dangan Ronpa games. This means no SHSL doctors or lucksters.

Please submit your characters through PM's. The following form can be found on my profile.

FORM-

Name (First, last- they will be called by their last name unless their name is foreign):

Age (14-18):

SHSL:

Gender:

Nationality (optional, default Japanese):

Number slot (please provide backup #):

Height:

Body type (lean/muscular/chubby/etc.):

Appearance:

Unique Features (optional):

Backstory:

Secret (optional):

Personality:

Values/Beliefs:

Quotes (optional but helpful):

Likes (optional):

Dislikes (optional):

Hobbies (optional):

Fears:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Most Likely (be honest, victim/culprit/survivor):

Execution (optional):

Other (optional):

Q: How would they react to a murder?

A:

Q: What is their role during an investigation or trial?

A:

Q: How would they react to an accusation?

A:

Q: What would cause your character to kill?

A:

For the sake of spoilers, I will only be inserting character names to represent the numbers that have been taken.

_Please do not be concerned if you have submitted a character and they have not been added onto the list. The ones that have been added below stood out to me and were accepted immediately. Remaining slots will be carefully considered to have a well-balanced story, and give other users a chance to submit. _

Character Slots:

1. Matsuri Natsume (STANDARD AHOGE PROTAGONIST)

2. Chiyoko Fukui (Tyrant Rave V2's OC)

3. Kurorouki Kenta (Neisan Rimu's OC)

4. Saiga Kaoru (FourthMind's OC)

5. Sakuya Iramine (Paku159's OC)

6. Hidori Ayasaka (The Shadow Meister's OC)

7. Masumi Hitsugi (The Utter Happenstance's OC)

8. Mayu Kurosaki (DesinyHeart13's OC)

9. Daniel Hallow (Munamana's OC)

10. Haruna Takahashi (Shiranai Atsune's OC)

11. Kazuki Tatsu (Shadowplayer360's OC)

12. Ryou Fujioka (pikachushinx's OC)

13. Seika Mori (MidnightMoonKid's OC)

14. Hisao Sakimura (PartyAtTrois's OC)

15. Nanako Iwasaki (wmsm5ever's OC)

16. Taro Kirashiki (Viner16's OC)


	2. Prologue

_Author's Note:_

_Greetings readers,_

_As of now, all 16 characters for this story have been selected. I am very pleased with the ones I have chosen, but I debated creating more slots so that more could be used. In the end I decided to just stick with the original 16 characters. My apologies if your OC was not selected. You all have my gratitude for submitting._

_I will be creating art to help illustrate certain parts of the story. Since you cannot copy and paste directly from the fanfiction, I will be linking these on my profile._

_Again, thank you to those who submitted._

_Regards, _

_JokersMaze_

* * *

**Prologue - fav(period)me/d7c81ty (link on profile)**

"_Ahh!" _

_A girl with strawberry-blonde hair leaned over a balcony, her two fluffy pigtails swaying gently in the wind. A faint trail of smoke snaked its way up into the air, and the girl let out an annoyed sigh as her view of the burning cityscape was blocked. She lifted her head up slightly to sniff at the familiar scent._

"_Do you smell that?" she whispered to no one in particular. "That's the smell of despair."_

_She smiled, satisfied with what the city had become. Several stories below her, she saw a woman collapse to the ground after being robbed of what little she had. Blood was pooling beneath the body, a marker of the chaos they lived in. The girl considered playing a little game with herself. A test to see if she could successfully spit onto the woman's body from so high up. But no, the scene satiated her desires enough. It wouldn't be necessary to draw attention to herself._

"_Upupupu~!"A small stuffed bear emerged from the shadows. Half of it was an innocent white- the color of a typical child's toy- while the other half grinned maliciously and sported eerie red eyes. _

"_Ah- isn't it wonderful? The whole thing makes my heart go a-thump!"_

_Its voice mimicked that of a child's. It spoke in a tone that was lighthearted and playful, yet the words that it spoke revealed its true despicable nature. It stood up on manufactured legs, moving on its own accord. The toy walked up next to the girl and clung lightly onto the balcony's iron bars, enjoying the view. The girl picked the bear up and held him tightly against her chest._

"_I know you're here." she said, not looking away from the landscape. "You can stop hiding now."_

_A tall masked man abruptly appeared beside her. He casually leaned on the railing, not even looking at the girl. _

"_There's something you want to tell me, isn't there?" She glanced at him while absentmindedly twirling a lock of hair around her finger. " I'm afraid that's despairingly impossible. You see, once you're in, you're in for life. You can't just leave just like that!"_

_The man remained silent, still gazing off into the distance. _

"_I'll make them give into despair too, y'know. Everyone breaks eventually." The girl felt around her black cardigan, appearing to search for something._

"_No," the man finally said. "Not him. Not all of them. You may think you're ready for everything, Junko, but these kids will prove you wrong. They'll prove that hope still exists in this world."_

_Her eyebrows twitched at the mention of the word 'hope'. Finding what she was looking for, she pulled a knife from her belt and quickly slashed at the spot where the man had been leaning. Yet the man was nowhere to be found. He had vanished, as if he were thin air. _

"_Upupupu~!" chortled Monokuma. "He certainly is a magician, isn't he?"_

"_An annoying one at that," muttered Junko. "Well, no matter, the other Ultimate Despair can take care of him."_

_The girl sighed in annoyance. She calmly put away her knife and went back to watching the chaos infront of her._

_Somewhere in the world, an innocent person was killed by a shot through the heart._

_Somewhere in the world, a group of thugs surrounded a young boy, guns locked and loaded, ready to kill._

_Somewhere in the world, a boy desperately scrambled to save the fragile life of his younger sister._

_And in this world, there would be no hope. She would make sure of that._


	3. Act 1-1: Enter the Game of Mutual Kill

_Author's Note:_

_Greetings readers,_

_I present to you the first chapter of Dangan Ronpa: Aegis of Despair. My apologies if I butchered your character in any way. This chapter's art features nine of the sixteen characters. My apologies if your character is not amongst them, or if I have depicted them incorrectly._

_From left to right: Hidori Ayasaka, Saiga Kaoru, Mayu Kurosaki, Sakuya Iramine, Matsuri Natsume, Taro Kirashiki, Seika Mori, Kazuki Tatsu, Haruna Takahashi_

_Regards,_

_JokersMaze_

* * *

**Chapter One - Scene One: Enter the Game of Mutual Killing - fav(period)me/d7c9pc1 (link on profile)**

Natsume opened her eyes and bolted upright.

"Where-" she was cut off by a fit of coughing. Her throat felt raw. "Where… am I?" she whispered hoarsely.

Looking around, she saw that she was sitting upon a simple bed. The room she was in was suitable for living, with purplish wallpaper, a blue tiled floor and plain wooden furnishings. She would have accepted the room as a normal dormitory, if she hadn't noticed the thick iron panels blocking off what she thought to be windows. Large nuts and bolts locked the panels in place, but other than that, the area was relatively unsuspicious.

_What is all this…? _she thought to herself. She suddenly gasped in realization.

"No… no, no, no, no…" Natsume jumped off the bed, not bothering to fix her ruffled jacket or messy hair. She looked around frantically before identifying a security camera hanging from the ceiling.

"Why?!" she screamed at it. "Why am I here? Why me?! I didn't do anything, I didn't go to Hope's Peak!"

Natsume stared at the camera, as if expecting an answer. No response was given, so she tried again.

"I have no talent! You have the wrong person!" She drew out every word, trying to emphasize her point.

Again, the camera remained silent.

She dropped to her knees, hands covering her face.

"Why am I…" she sobbed quietly. "… why am I at Hope's Peak…?"

This was the place where the game of mutual killing had occurred- where students had been forced to murder each other for a chance at escape. She had watched it all from the outside. It had been broadcast by Junko to everyone. She had seen every brutal murder, every horrific execution. And now, here she was, waking up in the very school that terrified her to no end.

Natsume stayed there, on her knees, for what felt like an eternity.

_How did I end up here… _she wondered. _The last thing I remember is hiding out in my house with my family after another riot had broken out…_

The intercom suddenly came alive with a buzz of static.

_Diiing dong diiing dong!_

"Ahem- mic check, mic check! May I please have everyone's attention?"

Natsume recognized the whimsical voice instantly.

"Attention all new students! We are now going to be holding the entrance ceremony! Please assemble in the gymnasium immediately!"

For a few moments, Natsume knelt there, debating whether or not to stand up and head towards the gymnasium like he had asked.

_I can't… there's no way he'd let resistance go so easily…_

She stumbled to her feet and dragged herself infront of a mirror sitting on the dresser. It wouldn't do to meet the other students looking like a mess. She fixed her short black jacket and smoothed out the white dress shirt underneath. There seemed to be no brush in sight, so she did what she could to untangle her hair. She adjusted her bowtie before giving a small smile and deeming her appearance acceptable.

Opening the door to the hallway, she looked to her left and saw a tall boy with messy black hair. He wore a large black hoodie and baggy beige pants, and was scribbling furiously onto a notepad of some sorts.

"Hey!" she called after him.

The boy looked up and turned around to see who had called him. Upon seeing the frontside of his hoodie, Natsume realized there was a white smiley face imprinted on the front. He pointed to himself, pencil in hand. "Are you talking to me?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah…" she said cautiously. The boy didn't seem panicked at all. "You know… you know where we are, right?"

"Of course. Hope's Peak Academy." He flipped through his notepad and showed her a messy sketch of a map. "Look, I tried drawing the map from memory so we can get around easier. Pretty handy isn't it?" he said with a grin. "The name's **Taro Kirashiki**! I'm on the hunt for the next big thing!"

"I'm Matsuri Natsume. You're a journalist?"

"Reporter. That's my talent after all!"

Natsume immediately looked concerned.

"You… you have a talent?"

He raised his eyebrows. "You don't? This is Hope's Peak after all."

"I thought- I thought there was a mistake. It must be a mistake. I don't have a talent. Not that I know of, anyways."

He scrawled something onto a blank page.

"That's quite interesting y'know. Maybe you're the Naegi Makoto of our class?"

She shrugged. "If that means I'll survive, then sign me up. Have you seen anyone else?"

Kirashiki shook his head. "No, I haven't. We should probably hurry to the gymnasium. I'm sure we'll find some others there."

Natsume nodded. "I agree. Let's go then."

As the two strode down the empty halls, Natsume made silent observations about the things that she hadn't noticed during the first broadcast. The school's atmosphere was actually quite refreshing, with newly painted walls and bright natural lights. Kirashiki continued taking his notes, although Natsume caught him sneaking a glance at her every now and then.

When the two finally reached the gymnasium, they found ten other students already gathered there. A podium and stage had been set up off to the side, although no one was there to address them. Natsume noticed several people staring at her and Kirashiki, and cleared her throat.

"Hi everyone…" she choked out awkwardly.

A boy with purple hair and silver streaks stepped forward. His hair was tied back into a ponytail and he wore a dark green bandana. Underneath his violet jacket was a light brown hoodie. Both of his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and the lightning bolt pendant he wore around his neck jingled slightly as he moved.

"Good morning Miss, my name's **Hidori Ayasaka**. It's really nice to make your acquaintance!"

"I'm Matsuri Natsume, and this is Taro Kirashiki." She gestured to the reporter. Kirashiki nodded in greeting.

"Ah, well the rest of us have already introduced ourselves. I'm the Ultimate Chemist, just so you know. You don't have to tell me your talent if you don't want to. We're still waiting on a few more people. You should get to know the others in the meantime."

"Alright, will do." said Natsume. Ayasaka walked away to go converse with the other students. Natsume reached for Kirashiki's arm. "C'mon, let's go-"

"Wait."

"What is it?"

"I think we should introduce ourselves individually. I want to see how the others react to each of us." Kirashiki's eyes seemed to spark with something unknown to Natsume.

"If that's what you think then alright." she said.

"I'll see you later then." he said as he headed towards a girl with short black hair and glasses.

Natsume sighed and looked at the remaining students.

"Where to start…" she murmured. She decided on a boy with messy red hair. A tuft of black hair buried itself in the middle of his bangs. He wore a black hooded jacket over a white shirt and stood looking at his hands, which were covered with red gloves. "Hello," she greeted. "My name is Matsuri Natsume. And you?"

The boy locked his red eyes with hers. "I am **Saiga Kaoru**, the Ultimate Magician. Is that all you require?"

"Uh, yeah… I guess so." Kaoru looked away without another word. Natsume assumed he was tired of lengthy introductions and headed over to a pale, sleepy looking boy. His hair was black and messy, much like Kirashiki's, and he wore a white jacket over a gray shirt, along with long black cargo pants. Natsume was surprised when the boy was the first to speak.

"I'm **Masumi Hitsugi**, if that's what you were gonna ask. I'm the Ultimate Forensics Pathologist. I find the causes of death for corpses."

"I'm Matsuri Natsume. I'm… not sure what my talent is…"

Hitsugi showed no signs of surprise, much to Natsume's relief. "Ah. That's rather uninteresting…"

Next came a girl with a side ponytail of long black hair. She wore a black dress with the upper half resembling that of a tuxedo. A bow and quiver of arrows were slung around her back. She seemed to radiate an aura of elegance and Natsume suddenly felt like a peasant in comparison.

"Good morning. My name is **Nanoka Iwasaki**. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She curtsied slightly. Natsume couldn't help but note the smoothness of her voice.

"You're the Ultimate Archer?"

Iwasaki bowed her head. "Indeed, I am. Quite a predicament we are in, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah…"

A boy wearing brown gloves and a sunhat walked over to the two. The bridge of his nose was dotted with freckles and his bright-blonde hair was short and messy.

"Good morning ladies! I'm **Hisao Sakimura**, the Ultimate Gardener. I don't think I've met you two yet."

Iwasaki curtsied again. "My name is Nanoka Iwasaki, and this is… forgive me, I don't think I've caught your name yet?"

"Matsuri Natsume."

"Well it's great to meet you both!" exclaimed the gardener.

"I don't mean to intrude," an unknown voice began. "But may we join in on your little introductory group?"

A tall, attractive boy in a gray trenchcoat stood behind them, smiling. His dark brown eyes sparkled against his short black hair, and his jeans and black sneakers gave him a relaxed, casual look. Beside him stood a boy with a short reddish-brown mohawk and piercing on his bottom lip.

"I'm **Kazuki Tatsu**, nice to meet you. This is **Daniel Hallow**."

"Hey there," said Daniel with a wave. "I'm the Ultimate Magician."

"Ultimate Magician?" questioned Natsume. "But- I thought- Kaoru-" She looked around the room, searching for the boy who had claimed to have the same talent. He had seemingly vanished.

"What is it?" asked Tatsu.

"O-Oh," she stammered. "It's uh, nothing."

"My, my, what a party over here!" called an excited voice.

A boy wearing a sleeveless black leather jacket walked up to them, grinning. His jeans were ripped and he wore a sparkley gray scarf. His hair was black with blue tips and he carried a fluffy sheep plushie in his arms. Around his neck sat a pair of sheep-designed headphones.

"Hello, I'm **Sakuya Iramine**! Nice to meet you! I hope we can be friends!"

"What interesting attire," said Sakimura. "Are you a farmer?"

"No," his face flushed. "I'm a DDR player."

"Man," sighed Natsume. "I don't mean to be a downer, but how can you all be so optimistic? I mean, we're at _Hope's Peak_! Don't you realize what this means?"

"The game of mutual killing huh?" said Daniel. "Well, I'm sure we can all survive. I mean, look at how friendly everyone is. Sure there are some quiet ones, but they won't be much of a threat, right?"

"No," muttered Tatsu. "It's the quiet ones you have to look out for."

He glanced at a girl with a short black hair and glasses. She was wearing a beige blazer and matching skirt, along with black knee-high boots that seemed to be of a foreign brand. Natsume recognized her as the girl Kirashiki had gone to speak with.

"She's hiding something," he observed. "I'm going to go introduce myself." Tatsu walked away with a brief goodbye, leaving the others to themselves.

"I think we should all do the same." said Sakimura. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Natsume walked over to a girl with light blue hair in a high ponytail. She wore a clean school uniform with a blue scarf and light gray collar, along with a pleated blue skirt, black knee socks, and white converse, which she was staring down at.

"Good morning," chimed Natsume.

The girl looked up and stared at Natsume cautiously. "… hello."

"My name is Matsuri Natsume. And you?"

"… I'm **Seika Mori**."

"… well it's nice to meet you, Mori-san…!"

The girl nodded. Natsume smiled awkwardly before deciding to walk away. Turning around, she bumped into another girl who was promptly knocked onto the floor. The girl's purple headphones were knocked several feet away and her PSP slid along the wood floors.

"I'm so sorry!" cried Natsume. She noticed a scrape on the girl's knee. The girl sat up and scrambled to her feet, chasing after her PSP. She seemed more concerned about her game than the scrape she had attained. When the girl had retrieved her items, Natsume caught up to her.

"Hey, I'm really sorry! I didn't see you when I turned around…" She thought for a moment, holding her finger up to her lips. "Actually, I don't think I saw you at all earlier…"

"That's okay. My name is **Mayu Kurosaki**. I'm the Ultimate Gamer, as you can probably tell. I came in late because I was searching for this." She gestured to the device in her hand. "Luckily they thought to bring it for me. I don't know what I'd do otherwise."

"Haha, I guess that is pretty important for your talent isn't it?" Natsume laughed nervously. "Say, do you wanna come make introductions with me? I'm Matsuri Natsume, by the way."

"Sure. I haven't met very many people yet."

Natsume took the time to observe what the girl was wearing. She had purple rectangular rimmed glasses and long, light blue hair that was put into a braid with a white ribbon. Underneath her brown sweater vest was a long sleeved uniform with a red collar and tie. Her skirt was the same shade of red and she carried around a brown messenger bag with various pins.

A boy stood fidgeting in another area of the room. His unkempt brown hair fell to his shoulders and he wore a blue jacket over a black button up shirt. Glasses covered his green eyes, and he looked up as the two approached him.

"Hello, I don't think we've met yet." said Natsume.

"Huh? Oh. My name's Ryou. **Ryou Fujioka**. I'm a clockmaker! Nice to meet you!" the boy grinned. In his hands was an alarm clock. Natsume assumed it was the one from his dormitory room. Fujioka had the back panel open, and was in the middle of rewiring the circuitry.

"What are you doing?" asked Kurosaki, pointing to the machine in his hands.

"I'm disabling the alarm. I want it to be quiet when I work, I don't need disruptions like these."

"You look like you've been working on that for quite a while," Natsume noticed. "Did you come here late as well?"

"Yeah, it took some time to find the tools to take this thing apart. Although now I'm not quite sure who to talk to…"

"I got here late too. Do you want to walk around with us?" offered Kurosaki. The boy nodded before closing up the clock's circuitry. The trio walked over to a boy with black hair that reached his shoulders. He wore a long, black coat with rolled up sleeves and a gray shirt underneath. His black jeans contrasted his glowing purple eyes and he glared at them as they walked up.

"Hey there-"

"I'm **Kurorouki Kenta**. Don't give a damn what your name is." he spat. "You'll probably die in this hellhole anyways. Not me. I'll get out no matter what…" he stared down at the ground, thinking.

"Well okay then…" muttered Fujioka.

They quickly moved on to the next person, the girl that Natsume had seen several times, the one with glasses and short black hair. Her sharp hazel eyes seemed to pierce Natsume as she looked at the approaching group.

"Good morning," greeted Kurosaki to the girl.

"Hello. You want to know my name, right? I'm **Chiyoko Fukui**, but please call me Chiyoko. I'm the Ultimate Historian."

The trio took turns introducing themselves. Fujioka looked around quizzically.

"What are you looking at?" asked Chiyoko.

"That's weird…" he said. "I think we've met everyone in the room…"

Natsume glanced around, and sure enough, they had met everyone already.

"Aren't there supposed to be sixteen students?" wondered Kurosaki aloud.

"_Ahem! Ahem! Mic check, mic check! Attention everyone!"_

They all turned to look at the stage. A monochrome bear had suddenly jumped up onto the podium and was now ready to address all the students. He was grinning maliciously but his voice remained whimsical like always, betraying no terrible intentions. The students were suddenly aware of the seriousness of their situation, and all friendly introductions ceased immediately.

"Monokuma…" growled Kenta from nearby.

"Ah! So you do recognize me!" exclaimed the bear. "I'm sure you bastards all realize where you are by now, so let me formally welcome you to your new school life of mutual killing!" Confetti burst from the ceiling at the mention of 'mutual killing', but no excitement was to be found amongst the students.

"My, my, what a cold reaction…" said Monokuma gloomily. "Now, before we start explanations, there's some business we need to take care of. Let this be a demonstration of why you should always listen to your headmaster!"

A screen rolled down from behind him, a video filling up the screen.

_A girl with navy-blue hair full of highlights and black streaks stood in the center of her room, glaring defiantly at the camera. Her eyes shimmered with aesthetic, silvery light and she wore a simple white t-shirt. Monokuma's voice echoed from the video._

"_This is your last chance to come to the entrance ceremony! I mean it you bastard!"_

_The girl said nothing and made no move for the door. She remained there, eyes deadlocked on the camera. _

"_So be it! Attention all new students! Pay close attention!"_

_The door locked with a loud 'click' behind the girl and she turned around at last, alarmed. Her eyes widened with fear as she realized her mistake in being rebellious. Not wanting to reveal her emotions, the girl shouted at the camera angrily._

"_I won't participate in your game!" _

"_Upupupu~!" Monokuma's laughter rang out through the room. "Well, what a waste. We'll just have to play with fifteen then!"_

_A machine gun mounted on a steel bar lowered itself from the ceiling and aimed at the girl. The girl took a step back and kept her precarious tears from spilling out. _

_Without any warning, the machine gun mercilessly sprayed her with bullets._

Natsume thought she heard gunshots coming from the dormitory area.

_The girl's body crumpled to the floor, white shirt now stained with crimson, blue hair streaked with blood. The door unlocked once more, but no one would be there to leave now._

The screen rolled back up and the students stood there, horrified.

"Now! Have you all learned a very valuable lesson?"

Everyone stood in silence for a few moments before Sakimura, the gardener, let out an ear-shattering shriek. Kirashiki scribbed notes in his notepad, looking dead serious for the first time Natsume had ever seen him. Tatsu took a step forward, hands clenched into fists.

"You couldn't… you couldn't have actually killed them! We don't even know who that was!"

"Ah but I did!" Monokuma covered his grin with his paws. "Upupupu~! That was **Haruna Takahashi**, the Ultimate Soccer Player and your sixteenth classmate!"

"I refuse… I refuse to believe that…" muttered Daniel.

"No… it's real…" said Natsume. "I heard the gunshots coming from the dormitories…"

The group stood in silence before Monokuma jumped up.

"Hey! I know what will cheer you guys up! Here! Have a reconciliation gift!"

He threw cards to each of the students. Most of them were hastily caught, but some fumbled and flushed as their durable I.D.s clattered to the ground.

"Look! They're your ElectroiDs! This'll make up for that other girl's death right?" laughed Monokuma. "There's a list of rules on the back, as usual, so make sure you look at them beary carefully~! You bastards have already seen that breaking the rules here will not be tolerated!"

His eyes glowed a mischievious red. "Now, you all have a choice to make. You can stay and spend the rest of your lives here, or you can kill each other and escape! I'm sure you all knew this from the moment you woke up!"

Natsume stared down at her shoes.

_He's right y'know. _she thought. _We had all seen the broadcasts of the mutual killings. Most people would have recognized this place immediately…_

"Well! That about does it for our entrance ceremony! Enjoy your new despairingly wonderful academy lives! I'll be seeing you again soon! But hopefully not all of you…" He hopped back behind his podium and seemingly vanished.

The students stood there, dumbfounded.

"So my assumptions were correct…" said Iwasaki quietly. "I don't know about you all, but I refuse to take part in this murder game. These lovely hands don't deserve to be stained with the blood of innocent people."

"I agree," said Iramine, adjusting his arms so he could carry his sheep plushie and ElectroiD. "Murder is despicable. We can all keep ourselves from participating can't we?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, but Natsume couldn't help but feel a growing doubt inside of her.

Every game started the same way. All of the students would agree to peace and refuse to participate. Yet, murders always happened anyways. There was no way all of them could make that sacrifice. Someone would break, she just knew they would, and paranoia would take control of all of them. She wouldn't allow herself the fantasy of a cooperative society. She would never murder, but she wouldn't let her guard down either. It was despicable, all of it.

The perfect society they had agreed to just now was a mere dream.

It was better to accept reality…

…to accept their new places in the game of mutual killing.

* * *

_EDIT: Fanfiction enjoys deleting random words from my writing. I immediately killed off Haruna Takahashi because I found that the same OC was used in several other SYOC's._


	4. Act 1-2: Divided We Stand

_Author's Note:_

_Greetings readers,_

_This chapter's art features the seven characters that were not previously drawn. Again, my apologies if your character was depicted incorrectly._

_From left to right: Nanako Iwasaki, Masumi Hitsugi, Ryou Fujioka, Kurorouki Kenta, Chiyoko Fukui, Daniel Hallow, Hisao Sakimura_

_Regards,_

_JokersMaze_

* * *

**Chapter One – Scene Two: Divided We Stand - fav(period)me/d7dnntz (link on profile)**

The students stood scattered around the gymnasium, all looking at each other.

"So," said Mori. "What now?"

"It's obvious isn't it?" commented Kirashiki, looking up from the recorded conversation in his notepad. "We're the new players in the game of mutual killing. We kill, get killed, or all agree to live in peace right now."

An ominous aura overcame the group. Natsume could feel the tension rising in the air. choking her.

"Then we'll all vote for peace… won't we?" asked Ayasaka. The hesistation in his voice betrayed his weak smile. "We can keep from killing each other, right?"

"Of course, it's the obvious choice!" someone shouted.

"We would never give in to something so stupid!"

"I'll never give in to despair."

"Me neither!"

"Nghh!" growled Kenta. "I can't afford to stay here!"

Immediately, all eyes shot to Kenta. Some gasped in horror. Fujioka took a step back in surprise. Iramine's red irises flared and his headphones rattled loudly as he turned sharply to glare at the other boy.

"You… you would murder?!" he cried. He was clenching his hands into fists. The fluffy sheep toy he carried fell to the ground, bouncing and rolling a few feet away. "That's terrible!"

"I said nothing like that!" Kenta yelled at him, ignoring the panicked looks from everyone else. "I said, _I'm not staying here_. You losers actually think we can trust one another? Don't make me laugh."

Kenta looked around the gymnasium, making eye contact with almost everyone. Some looked away timidly, while others stood their ground and glared back. For a moment, Natsume's eyes were locked with his, and she felt his intense gaze challenging her to respond. She had thought the same thing, after all. They couldn't pretend forever.

"C'mon then. You all want to say I'm wrong don't you? Then say it! Tell me we'll all make it out of here alive!" His voice had risen to a shout, words bouncing around inside the large, empty gymnasium. Chiyoko held a slim finger to her lips, quietly observing the scene. Hitsugi seemed to be doing the same, hiding a grin at the interesting turn of events.

Kenta let out a triumphant huff. "Didn't think you bastards had anything to-"

"That's enough," said Tatsu, interrupting him. His voice held enough command to immediately silence Kenta, who muttered to himself in irritation. Natsume noted his serious demeanor, completely different from the friendly boy she had met earlier. Tatsu's black sneakers squeaked as he strode his way up to the center of the room. His gray overcoat and generally pleasant appearance made him look like a natural leader, yet his casual jeans and shoes made him quite charismatic. He looked around, making sure he was visible to everyone before addressing the students.

"We shouldn't be too hasty," he began. "Although Kenta has a point, we can't waste time worrying about possible if's and but's. We need to focus on getting out of here." The students nodded in grim agreement. Kenta begrudgingly nodded as well, refusing to look at him. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his jacket and he stared down at the floor.

Tatsu glanced at a nearby clock mounted above the doors to the gymnasium. The time read 2:20 P.M.. "Then for now, let's explore the school. If anything, I want to confirm that we're actually in Kibougamine Academy. Maybe splitting into small groups would be our best course of action?" he offered.

Fujioka adjusted his glasses and looked up. "Sorry, but I'll be investigating alone." he said. "I won't trust anyone else to get the job done. Real work takes time."

"I'll be going alone as well." said Mori, not bothering to provide further explanation.

_That girl really doesn't talk much, huh… _thought Natsume.

Iwasaki stood with her hands politely clasped over the front of her elegant black dress. "Indeed, I do believe I would be better off on my own. No hard feelings to anyone else, of course."

"None taken." reassured Daniel.

"Alright then," said Tatsu. "Those who wish to investigate alone are free to do as they wish. As for the rest of us…"

The students agreed to divide themselves into various groups. After a bit of sorting, the resulting three groups stood facing each other. Natsume stood next to Kurashiki, Kurosaki, and Chiyoko, while Tatsu had joined a group with Daniel, Iramine and Ayasaka. The last group consisted of Hitsugi, Sakimura and Kenta, who had decided that it was too dangerous to travel alone, given their current situation. Natsume observed that Kaoru had disappeared from the room, and assumed that he went to look around by himself.

"Let's meet in the cafeteria later," said Chiyoko. "We can share our findings there."

Everyone nodded and waited for any further comments. After a few brief moments, Iwasaki smiled courteously.

"Well, I see that no one has anything else to say," she commented. "I'll be off, then." The elegant archer turned, curtsied, and began walking towards the exit of the gymnasium.

"I guess we'll do the same. See you later, everyone." said Tatsu. Natsume found that he had gone back to his old self, acting carefree and easygoing. His hands were clasped behind his head and he grinned in a casual fashion. As Tatsu's group made their way out of the gym, Hitsugi and his group followed close behind. The students gradually shuffled out of the room. Soon, only Natsume, Kurashiki, Kurosaki and Chiyoko were left remaining.

"So…" murmured Natsume. "Where should we start?"

Kirashiki flipped to his crudely drawn map and gestured with his pencil. "If we're all correct and this really is Kibougamine Academy, there shouldn't be much to explore. That being said, I'll still keep track of any similarities." He drew a small check by the gym. "I suspect the other groups will go looking for these rooms…" He checked off the cafeteria, bathhouse and nurse's office.

"What about the ones who went off on their own?" inquired Chiyoko.

"The dorms, perhaps?" offered Natsume. "Although it is rather suspicious… Kurosaki, what do you think?"

No response.

"… Kurosaki?"

The light-haired girl had completely checked out. Her purple headphones sat over her ears and she stared down intensely at her PSP, which was alight in the midst of a game. Her delicate fingers nimbly tapped at various buttons as she ignored the discussion occurring before her.

Natsume nudged her arm. Kurosaki looked up and took off her headphones, face quickly flushing a bright red. "S-sorry. I haven't been making very much progress since we got here and all."

"It's fine," Kirashiki grinned. "You seem very passionate about your talent. It must be fun being a gamer!"

"It…" She gave a small flustered smile. "… it really is." She rummaged around in her brown messenger bag, carefully putting away her device. Natsume noticed various pins attached to the front, game logos and characters, things like that. "I'm sorry guys, I'll try and pay more attention now."

"Wait," said Chiyoko, ignoring Kurosaki. "Before we go anywhere, I want you all to notice something." She grabbed the notepad and pencil from Kirashiki, who stood there dejectedly after having his items taken. "I don't think this is an exact replica of Kibougamine Academy."

"What do you mean?" asked Natsume.

"Look," she continued, drawing a faint line from the dormitory area to the gymnasium. "If this were the same building, this should have been the path we took to get here. Do you see a difference?"

"I don't remember passing an elevator on the way here…" said Kurosaki.

"That's because there _was _no elevator." Chiyoko crossed out the symbol for the elevator on the map. "The building's layout is different."

"I wonder if the other groups even noticed…" murmured Kirashiki.

"They probably have," said Natsume. "If the layout's different, there are probably some new rooms or floor plans, something like that."

Chiyoko nodded before heartlessly tearing out Kirashiki's drawing and crumpling it into a ball. Kirishiki let out a disappointed groan. "I worked hard on that y'know…" he pouted. She shot a glance at him, condemning his cries, and carelessly threw the paper into a garbage can behind her.

"Here. You can work hard on the new layout instead." Shoving the materials into his hands, Chiyoko turned and began striding towards the exit of the gymnasium.

"Well, no point in hanging around and wasting time I guess…" sighed Natsume as she fell in line behind the historian. She heard Kirashiki and Kurosaki's footsteps follow shortly after.

They walked out of the gymnasium and began a large loop around the first floor. Natsume took the time to memorize the order of the dormitory rooms as well. On the outer bend lived Chiyoko, Kenta, Kaoru, Iramine, Ayasaka, herself, Hitsugi, Kurosaki, Daniel and Tatsu. The inner panel consisted of Fujioka, Mori, Sakimura, Iwasaki, Kirashiki, and what _had _been Takahashi's room. She grimaced slightly upon reaching Takahashi's room, wondering why she had resisted.

"It's inevitable," said Chiyoko, noticing Natsume's bleak expression. "This is Kibougamine Academy, or something like it at least. Somebody has to die."

"More like some of us…" she murmured quietly. Kirashiki patted her harshly on the back.

"Hey cheer up! We'll figure it out." Natsume sighed but perked up at his persistent optimism.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right."

It was at this moment that Seiga Kaoru walked out from his dorm room. He glanced at the group of students, nodded in greeting, then proceeded to walk away.

"Hey wait!" called Natsume after him. The professed magician ignored her, pretending not to hear, and continued walking. She ran after him and grabbed his wrist once she caught up. Abruptly, he turned around and stared at her.

"What do you want?"

"You told me you were the Ultimate Magician- someone else claimed to have the same talent." She paused, looking at him sternly. "Are you really a magician?"

"…" The boy remained silent for a long time, bright red eyes gazing into piercing green ones.

"… I see no purpose in answering your question." he said coldly. He freed his hand with a brusque yank and walked away. Natsume let him go, glaring daggers into the back of his hooded black jacket. She briefly wondered where he was going but dismissed the thought as rage overcame her.

"Stupid jerk." she muttered to herself. She heard Kurosaki walk up behind her.

"What a strange boy," she said. "I wonder if they could _both _be magicians?"

"It shouldn't be possible." said Kirashiki, crossing his arms. "There should only be one student per talent, since they only take in the best of each category. One of them must be lying, but which one…?" He allowed his voice to trail off as he pondered the mystery. He hastily scribbled his thoughts on a fresh page in his notepad.

"Man!" groaned Natsume. "I don't even _know _my talent. At this rate _I_ could be the real magician!"

Chiyoko looked up, suddenly interested. "You don't know your talent?" she inquired.

"I don't have a clue. Actually, I don't remember ever having one either."

"How did you get here then?"

Natsume shrugged. "I don't know. I was just a normal kid- or, at least, I was supposed to be. That's probably why I've never heard of any of you. I'm not supposed to be involved with any talents, let alone this killing game."

"Actually," said Kurosaki. "I've never heard of anyone here either."

"Well, with the world being plagued by despair and all, you'd think there wouldn't be time for small talk. Was it any different for you talented students?"

"Different?" asked Kirashiki. "What do you mean?"

"Well…"

* * *

_Natsume had been six years old when it had first started. Her parents had been glued to the T.V., murmuring to themselves._

"_Honey, have the police made any breakthroughs yet?"_

_Her father grasped her mother's hand and rubbed it gently. "No, not yet. The school's locked up pretty tight. Even explosives aren't working."_

"_But those children, the class council-"_

"_There's nothing we can do."_

_Natsume walked over, crawled onto her mother's lap, and looked at the screen. Several policemen stood talking amongst themselves outside a heavily barricaded building. It looked to be an academy of some sorts. Natsume raised a finger and pointed curiously at the television. _

"_Mommy, what's that?"_

_Her mother gave a small, tired smile. "That's Kibougamine academy, dear. There are some bad things happening inside it right now."_

_She looked up at her mother with a confused expression._

"_Well, why don't they just make the bad things stop?"_

_Her father gently patted her head. "I'm afraid it's not that easy, Matsuri-chan." She puffed up her cheeks in protest, using her chubby arms to hide her tousled hair._

"_I told you to stop telling me that!" she pouted. "I'm a grown-up now!"_

_Surrounding her in a warm hug, her mother lightly kissed the top of her head._

"_Alright, alright, whatever you say. But I think it's time for the grown-ups to go to bed."_

_Natsume kicked her feet around, sulking, before her face broke into a wide grin. "Then that means you have to go to bed too!" she exclaimed. _

_Her parents chuckled to themselves. "I guess you're right. C'mon Matsuri-chan, let's get ready for bed."_

_As the trio made their way out of the living room and up the stairs, Natsume caught one last glance of the television. She wondered who would do such bad things inside of a school of all places._

"_Mom?" Natsume was fourteen now. An explosion was heard from outside and she hastily covered her ears with her hands. She looked at her mother, terrified. "I'm scared."_

_Her mother brought her closer and grimaced. Natsume realized that her mother never smiled anymore. No one did._

"_We all are. But there's nothing we can do."_

"_But can't we stop them? Can't we stop despair from sp-"_

"_No, Matsuri._"

_Her father's tone was rough and commanding, but his voice was hoarse with exhaustion. He had bags under his eyes, probably from keeping watch the last few nights. There was never a safe time with rioters all around. Most of their neighbors had fallen into despair and joined the chaos. Not her family though, they were still trying to hold out._

"_It'll all be over soon," Natsume whispered to herself. "I'm sure there's still hope."_

_Her mother began giggling hysterically. "Hope?" Her cackles became louder and her pupils dilated. She looked more and more crazed until her eyes glazed over and she looked Natsume dead in the eyes."Oh Matsuri-chan, there is no hope in this world. Only despair."_

_The kittenish way she said 'despair' made Natsume move back a bit. "M-mom?"_

_She looked frantically to her father for support. He gave her none._

_Natsume watched her mother snicker to herself for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, late at night, she passed out from physical fatigue. Natsume gazed at her sleeping figure. She looked so peaceful like this, as if she had forgotten the horrors of the world. _

_Natsume closed her eyes, trying to get some rest. _

_The next morning, she woke up and walked into the kitchen to find her mother's lifeless body lying in a pool of blood. Her corpse was leaning against a weathered wall, looking quite relaxed. The tiles had behind her had long ago lost their color. Her mother's skin was starting to do the same._

_She didn't scream when she saw the body. It was part of life now, to find someone's stiff, cold remains. Instead, she calmly walked out of the room and to her father, who sat huddled in a corner of their office._

"_Mom's dead."_

_He nodded._

"_What do we do about the body?"_

_He didn't look at her. "Keep it there."_

_Natsume left the room silently and went back into the kitchen. She stood there, looking at her mother's body, lost in her thoughts._

_How long had it been, since both of her parents had fallen into despair? _

_Had she caused it? Had she been a burden too heavy? Was it her fault? Was she the cause of despair? Despairdespairdespair… oh it was so nice…_

_She looked down and saw the knife her mother had used to slit her wrists. It was covered in blood from top to bottom. She knelt down and gently picked it up, turning it over in her hands. The sticky red substance coated her fingers, and she watched as it slowly dripped back onto the floor. She smiled. _

_Natsume remembered whispering a few things, although she couldn't remember why she had said them._

"_Despair will never beat me. Hope will save the day." _

_Her memories were fuzzy after that._

* * *

"Oh," said Kirashiki bleakly. "That kind of different."

Chiyoko and Kurosaki stared at her, saying nothing.

"Wait," said Natsume. "What happened to you guys then?"

Chiyoko scoffed. "Nothing like that. I lived alone, took care of myself. It wasn't hard, at least, not after a while."

"What happened to your parents?" asked Kurosaki. Chiyoko glared at her and the gamer took a step back, stammering. "I-I mean you don't _have _to tell us if you don't want to-"

"It was my choice," she said coldly. "I _chose_ to be independent."

"O-okay." Kurosaki stuttered, obviously taken aback by Chiyoko's reaction. The gamer's expression softened and she gazed down at the floor quietly.

"I guess… I'm kind of the same..." she murmured. "My parents used to fight a lot. I didn't get to talk to them very often..." She glanced at the sleek black PSP in her hand, and grinned sheepishly. "At least _something _good came out of it, right?"

Natsume noted that the air had suddenly become very somber. Perhaps it hadn't been in her best interests to ask about their pasts. She noticed that Kirashiki hadn't said a word, most likely trying to avoid the subject. The group stood there silently until Natsume tenderly cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean for this to…"

"It's alright." Chiyoko adjusted her glasses and looked at her, composed. "If we're all going to work together and try to get out of here, we should take the time to get to know each other. It could take a while before we come up with anything, anyways."

"Speaking of taking a while…" Natsume looked at a clock mounted on a nearby wall. It read 3:52 P.M.. Their storytelling session had taken roughly an hour and a half, although they still had plenty of time before the meeting in the cafeteria. She waited for someone to propose their next course of action.

"Well?" asked Chiyoko. "Are we actually going to look around or are we going to just stand here staring at each other?"

"How big do you think this place is…?" wondered Natsume aloud. "We've been standing here for almost two hours. How come we haven't run into any other groups?"

"It's possible that there are multiple floors," said Kirashiki. "Maybe they all went to different ones?""

Natsume grasped at her chin in thought. "Even so…"

"Let's go to the stairs. We can check if there's a second floor and see if anyone went upstairs- or downstairs, if that's the case."

As the group made their way back towards the gymnasium, they were greeted by the sight of a large metal gate down the middle of the hallway.

"W-what the hell?!" cried Natsume. "This wasn't there earlier!"

"Monokuma must have put this here while we were in the dormitories..." murmured Chiyoko.

"Still, why?" questioned Kirashiki.

"_Upupupu~!"_

At that moment, Monokuma's childish laughter rang out of the intercom system.

"_Ahem, ahem! Could I have everyone's attention please?"_

Everyone turned to face the intercom speaker.

"_Congratulations! You bastards have discovered your first motive! Yep! These iron gates will stay in place until you guys eventually choose to kill someone! And don't even think about breaking them open- these babies are four tons of pure, refined steel."_

Natsume heard a loud shout of outrage coming from upstairs. She guessed that Kenta and his group were on the second floor, judging by the noise. She also heard a muffled question, although it was impossible to tell what they were saying.

"_Upupupu~! You might be asking, 'what kind of motive is a stupid gate?'. Well, I have to admit, it's not much a motive by itself, but there are gonna be hard times ahead for those of you who don't have access to the cafeteria!"_

"Wait," said Kurosaki curiously. "What about people who can't get to their dormitories? Sleeping anywhere else isn't permitted, right?"

"…"

There was an awkward silence.

"…_ehh…"_

Monokuma's voice was suddenly very shy sounding. It became very obvious that he hadn't thought of the issue. Natsume nonsensically wondered what else he hadn't thought of.

"… _well fine then! As long as this motive is in place, rule #3 is temporarily disabled. Sleeping outside of dormitories is permitted… for now. Any more questions?" _

He paused, waiting to see if there were any responses.

"_No? Well then you bastards- KILL EACH OTHER!"_

His last few words echoed through the hallways. There was a stiff calm as everyone took in the information. After a moment of shock, a scream rang out through the school building.

_Yep, Sakimura's definitely upstairs. _thoughtNatsume.

"We're the lucky ones," said Kirashiki thoughtfully. "We have full access to the dormitories and cafeteria."

"What about the other groups?" asked Kurosaki.

"Probably nothing." said Chiyoko. "They have the most motive to kill, if things remain the way they are."

"There has to be _some _way to communicate with the others." said Natsume. "Maybe there's a way to give everyone food?"

Kirashiki began sketching something new in his notepad. "The school's layout is different from the original, so it's certainly possible."

Natsume looked at the gate. There were small square holes in the grating, each about 1-inch wide. She walked up and grabbed on, shaking vigorously in an attempt to loosen the metal doors up. They didn't budge.

"HEY!" she yelled. "CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?"

"_Yeah we can hear you! We're up here!" _Natsume recognized the voice to be Kenta's.

"CAN YOU GUYS GET TO THE STAIRWAY?"

God it hurt her voice to shout like this. She wondered how Kenta could do it all the time.

"_No- entire left side's cut off by the gate. Do you guys have access to the cafeteria?"_

"YEAH WE'RE DOWN BY THE DORMS-"

"_Pardon the intrusion." _interrupted Hitsugi. Natsume was surprised to hear that his voice could be so loud. _"I thought you two would like to know that there's a balcony outside where you don't have to shout like this. I looked over the edge, there should be one on the first floor as well."_

Kirashiki looked around before landing his eyes on a door. He gestured to it and Natsume walked over, curious. Inside was a small room, with several white medical face masks hanging to the side. On the opposite wall was another door. Natsume could see the polluted air outside through the small window.

"Better put one of these on." advised Kirashiki, noticing the toxicity.

Each of the four grabbed a facemask and carefully secured them around their lower faces. Natsume nodded and confirmed that all of them were ready before opening the door and stepping outside. She was immediately grateful that she had taken the time to put one on. Even through the filter, she could smell the heavy smoke in the air, and feel the fumes burning her throat. The haze acted like fog, shrouding everything below the balcony in a sea of vapor. Looking to her left and right, it was impossible to see where the building ended.

She heard the door above them open with a hiss.

"Natsume?" called Sakimura, voice muffled.

"Yeah, we're down here. Who's with you?"

"It's just me, Kenta and Hitsugi." he replied. She heard him cough. "There's so much smog out here…"

"You guys have a room full of facemasks too, right?" asked Kurosaki.

"I think every floor does. At least, I can count four balconies." said Hitsugi.

"Do you know who's on the third and fourth floor?"

"Not a clue!" exclaimed Sakimura. "We haven't gotten any response from the third floor, and it's impossible to hear the fourth floor from down here. Have you noticed that the floor layouts are different from the original academy?"

"Yeah, although the dormitory layout is pretty much the same. We can get to the cafeteria from here. If you find a way for us to move things between floors, we can bring food to you guys." said Kirashiki.

"Who cares if we starve or not," Natsume heard Hitsugi murmur. "We're all going to wither away and die eventually. It doesn't matter how, or when."

"Moron!" she heard Kenta hiss. "What kind of idiot just gives up like that?!"

"I'm not wrong, y'know."

"Whatever. If you wanna die, be my guest." he muttered.

"O-oh, please! Let's not fight!" cried Sakimura. He looked down at the lower balcony. "Ah, if you could find something to tie it with, you could use my sunhat as a basket… I guess…"

"Are you sure?" asked Natsume. She looked down at the haze and wondered how high up they were. It was impossible to tell where the ground was. "I wouldn't want you to lose it if it fell down there..."

"I'm sure we can find some kind of pot in the kitchen, no need to risk it." said Kurosaki. "And don't all the girls have sewing kits in their dormitories? There must be some thread to work with."

"We're making a pulley system then?" offered Kirashiki. The others nodded. He began drawing a diagram in his notepad, but paused to look up at the gardener. "We'll be back in a bit. Though, it's probably best if you wait inside- I can't imagine standing out here would be healthy."

"See you later then," said Sakimura. "Call us when you're ready. I do hope the others show up soon…"

Natsume and the others headed inside, in search for supplies. As they rummaged through the dormitories and kitchen, she wondered what had happened to those investigating on their own. Perhaps they were scattered onto various floors, locked up with the others. They hadn't heard anything from the groups themselves, either. She silently hoped that they were okay.

* * *

_Side Note:_

_There may a slight delay before the next chapter of this work is released. I plan on publishing a chapter of Restoration before continuing progress on this SYOC. My apologies if this disappoints you greatly._

_Furthermore, I am participating in a forum roleplay for Dangan Ronpa and it would be a great pleasure if you were to join me. The link to this roleplay is present on my profile._

_As always, r__egards,_

_JokersMaze_


End file.
